Warriors 105, Pistons 97

Dave Del Grande, Sports Xchange

The SportsXchange•March 14, 2013

OAKLAND. Calif. -- Harrison Barnes' three high-flying dunks in the opening seven minutes of the third quarter electrified a sellout crowd and propelled the Golden State Warriors to a 105-97 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. After seeing the Pistons erase all of a 12-point deficit en route to a 50-50 halftime tie, the Warriors rebuilt the advantage to a dozen in the third period. This time, they held on en route to their second consecutive win and a season-series sweep of their Eastern Division rival. All three of Barnes' dunks came during the pull-away. He first converted a David Lee lob into an alley-oop throw-down, then later turned Lee and Klay Thompson feeds from the perimeter into driving slams, each one amping up the building's volume a notch. The Pistons, losing for the third time in four nights to start a four-game trip, fell for the seventh consecutive time overall. Detroit managed to close within three early in the fourth period, bridging the third and fourth quarters with a 9-0 run. The Warriors contributed four turnovers to that temporary reversal, including a pair by Stephen Curry in the final seconds of the third quarter that drew the ire of coach Mark Jackson. With the Warriors looking to add to a nine-point lead in the final half-minute of the third, Curry threw a lazy left-handed pass right to the Pistons' Will Bynum, who fed Rodney Stuckey downcourt. Stuckey was fouled and hit two free throws with 7.1 seconds left in the period. Curry then tried to race the ball upcourt for one final shot, but he got bumped in a double-team and lost it to Bynum one more time. Bynum again fed Stuckey for an apparent hoop that would have closed the gap to five, but a between-periods video review by the referees deemed the basket came just after the horn. In the meantime, Curry went searching for a referee to complain about not getting a foul call, and he unceremoniously received a two-hand shove in the back toward the bench by Jackson, who in turn vented his frustration on the officials. When Curry committed a third consecutive turnover to start the fourth period and Golden State's Carl Landry got stripped by the Detroit defense, the Pistons managed to get within 80-77, prompting a Jackson timeout, at which point he summoned center Andrew Bogut from the bench. The move paid immediate dividends, as Bogut responded with assists on hoops by Thompson and Lee that righted the ship and sent Golden State to its fourth win in six games on its current seven-game homestand. Jarrett Jack added three key hoops down the stretch as the Warriors were able to keep the Pistons at arm's length. Curry led the Warriors (37-29) with 31 points. He hit five 3-pointers, including his 200th of the season, a first in franchise history. Lee played a major role in the win as well with 20 points and 15 rebounds, hitting nine of his 13 shots. Jack finished with 19 points, and Barnes had 13. Stuckey led a balanced Pistons attack with 22. Kyle Singler chipped in with 17, and Jason Maxiell, returning from a one-game absence, had 14 rebounds to go with eight points. Bynum scored 16 points. The game was anything but a blowout. Getting far superior play from its bench, the Pistons (23-44) rallied into a halftime tie. It looked as if it would be another long night for the team playing its third road game in four nights, as Golden State hit its first three 3-pointers and six of seven shots in all while spurting to a 15-5 lead just 3:02 into the contest. The Warriors led by 12 at one point of the first period, but then the Pistons turned to their backups and got things going in their favor. Jonas Jerebko (11) and Bynum (10) both reached double figures off the Detroit bench by halftime, helping the visitors earn a 25-15 advantage in reserve points before the break. Curry, burying four 3-pointers, led all scorers in the half with 14 points. NOTES: Pistons coach Lawrence Frank missed his fifth consecutive game as he tends to his ill wife, Susan, in New Jersey. Asked before the game if he expected Frank to return to the team upon the Pistons' return home after the current four-game Western swing, interim head coach Brian Hill was noncommittal. "He's day-to-day," Hill said. ... The Pistons' weeklong, four-game trip ends Saturday in Portland. ... The Pistons gained one and lost one in terms of starters Wednesday. Maxiell, who sprained his right ankle in the trip opener against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday and missed Monday's loss at Utah, returned to the starting lineup. Meanwhile, guard Brandon Knight sat out, a result of a sprained left ankle suffered 3 1/2 minutes into the Jazz game. ... The loss at Utah came in Detroit's 66th game of the season, the same number played in last year's entire truncated schedule. The Pistons won 25 games last season, two more than they had through 66 games this year. ... The Warriors, meanwhile, played their 66th game Wednesday. Their 37 wins are 14 more than they posted all of last season. ... Curry's previous career-high for 3-pointers was 166, set in his rookie season in 2009-10. He surpassed Dorell Wright's franchise record of 194 in Monday's win over the New York Knicks. ... Basketball isn't the only thing that's important in the life of Warriors coach Mark Jackson. A pastor in the True Love Worship Center in Van Nuys, Calif., Jackson applauded the announcement that Jorge Mario Bergoglio would be the new pope of the Roman Catholic Church. "It's a great day," Jackson said. "Job well done."